The Reds' 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday was shrouded in controversy after Benteke won and scored a last-minute penalty to give 10-man Liverpool - who came from behind after James Milner was sent off - all three points at Selhurst Park.

The incident infuriated ex-Liverpool hitman Collymore, who wrote in his Boyle Sports column that 'diving is a cancer eating away at the soul and moral compass of football', before taking a swipe at Chapman for his views.

"Diving is a cancer eating away at the soul and moral compass of football. Ex-pros who did it, or profited from teammates who did it, are brainwashing a gullible TV audience in particular, that cheating is ok. “You have the RIGHT” to go down," he wrote.

"Even Mark Chapman on MOTD 2, a man who is there to ask industry professionals the questions, not to give answers himself, and has no discernible (to my knowledge) experience of how difficult it is to go down when touched, weighed into the Benteke affair with “well of course he took his foot away.

"Really Mark? A 14 stone striker barely touched who was on his way down before he was breathed on, and who’s pained expression was that of a man impaled on a stake had his foot took away did he? Nothing like a sheep to join a studio full of punditry sheep protecting their own ar**s and rather skewed views on competing fairly and squarely!"

Benteke, 25, has also been condemned on Twitter for what many social media users believe to have been a dive too, though plenty - including Gary Lineker - have also claimed that it was a foul by Delaney.

Controversy aside, the victory kept alive Liverpool's slim hopes of securing a top-four finish, with Jurgen Klopp's side still seventh and six points behind Manchester City.

Shane Callaghan

Shane is a Dublin-based sports writer who swapped the football pitch for the press box upon learning that he was better with a pen than with a round bit of leather. Prior to joining HITC, Shane enjoyed spells with Sports Mole and Goal.com among others, while he was also club reporter for Irish football club Drogheda United.